שאלה | Question: What was the British colonial attitude in India toward the “fakir,” and what was it based on?

Question: What was the British colonial attitude in India toward the “fakir,” and what was it based on?

שאלה #193541

		A) A positive attitude, stemming from his inventions and the entertainment he provided
		B) A negative attitude because it involved many forms of violence
		C) A positive attitude because of its broad social acceptance
		D) A negative attitude because it opposed capitalist labor discipline; the idea was that drug use made the “fakir” lazy and unproductive

Explanation: In the lectures, British colonial discourse treats the fakir as part of a “backward” social type, and links his practices (including intoxication/ascetic life) to idleness and resistance to productive labor, so condemnation is grounded in colonial-capitalist ideals of work and discipline. (Lecture/Reading: Chattopadhyaya, “Primer for Rebellion”.)